Cut trees to preserve the environment!

 This is the heading of a press release circulated by the United Nations European Environment Commission.  

However, we are not advised to cut whatever tree we come across. Instead, we are just informed about the positive impact of the use of wood on the preservation of the environment.

The West is persistently emphasizing the advantages of wood as a construction material and pursuing policies to encourage of the use of wood. In addition, today's consumer has been questioning the negative impacts of the construction materials on the environment for some time. Advantages of the wood in terms of the environmental impact are undisputable. The wood is the only material that vanishes in the nature without leaving any waste behind!

Some time ago we witnessed death of ten thousands of people under collapsed buildings in the earthquake of August 17th. The buildings collapsed since they were built improperly. Whereas, the risk of death under collapsed buildings is almost zero in California, the USA, which has settled on a similar earthquake fault zone. The reason is that 99% of the houses in California have been made of wood! While we continue to use reinforced concrete which is 30 times heavier than wood, we are still discussing how we can build stronger buildings.

Contrary to the belief, it has been scientifically proven that in a fire the most safe construction material is wood! The most important safety factor is that the wood does not transmit heat and it carbonizes. For this reason, buildings used by crowds, such as sports halls, are built on wooden carcass system for its fire safety in the United States.

The wood offers vast means of use incomparable with any other product.

Owing to its lightness, the wood can pass over large and long spans. In Tacoma Dome (Tacoma, the USA), the wood passes a span of 162 m without any column.

What is the service life of a window pane made of pine wood?

60 years for sure! If only it has received proper pretreatment for preservation. In the UK, the service life given for the PVC window frames is only 15 years. The wood works, but it does not elongate and shrink.

We frequently hear complaints such as "Window twisted, it doesn't shut properly or it swelled by rain, it doesn't open" in our daily life. However, if the wood has been chosen, dried and designed correctly, you will not experience any problem with the wood. Keep in mind that every material works, but the most important point is the correct design.

A wooden structure is healthy

The wood doesn't collect dust, is easy to clean, it breaths. The wood is a material which is minimally affected from the changes in the ambient temperature.

In countries where the wood is used mostly, like the USA and Scandinavian countries, the forests are growing more than the forests of the countries where the wood is used less. Encouragement of the use of wood encourages the growth of the forests at the same time. For this reason the Green Peace support the use of wood in structures. It is a known fact that young trees filter the carbon dioxide in air much faster than the old trees.

The wood is a perfect engineering material

A wooden structure conceals nothing. People can readily perceive its architectural design and engineering system. This is the freedom of speech imparted by the wood as a construction material.

Therefore, we should accept the facts and know the wood from a renewed perspective in order to use it correctly and properly by employing the latest technology.

Keep in mind! The future will rise on the wood.

Yours sincerely,